US Supreme Court Approves Temporary Takings Claims

The US Supreme Court said that even a temporary taking of property through flooding may be the basis for a takings claim under the Fifth Amendment.

Held: Government-induced flooding temporary in duration gains noautomatic exemption from Takings Clause inspection. Pp. 6–15.  

This from the McClatchy News Service: 

The 19-page ruling means that the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission might get paid eventually for the Black River flooding damage that resulted when the Army Corps of Engineers released water from the Clearwater Dam in neighboring Missouri. From 1993 to 2000, the flooding wiped out more than 18 million board feet of timber in a wildlife management area about 115 miles from the dam.

 The decision in  Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States  can be found here.  It would not seem to have much application in West Virginia, but the approval of temporary takings claims may have ramifications in some other contexts.